my short story has a lot of different things going on, and I need to limit it to 1 maybe 2 max (and they'd have to be intertwined). My girl Finley is going through a lot - what is the story I'm most interested in telling? (forgive me for this thread. It's just my rambly thoughts)

so. my original premise for the story revolved around Fin dealing with the fact that this person who she hates isn't actually a bad person - she just wants what the other person has. And through becoming friends, they both get a little piece of the other's life that they need

but part of this wanting-what-the-other-has thing is rooted in their relationships with their parents - the kid with the parents who give lots of attention but are controlling vs. the parents who give none but expect nothing of you

obviously, you can't change who your parents are. But is the solution at the end to talk to their different parents about their individual needs? Or do they need to come to the personal realization that they need to get those needs elsewhere? Are they needs at all?

or do they move past it and find happiness elsewhere? Another thing that adds to my questioning is the fact that Fin's parents are traditionalists whereas the other parents are not. Fin flexing independence from this traditionalism would be triumphant, and I love it, but...

if her parents are also the type that don't care about what their kids do, we have a problem. Because neglect compounding with expectation doesn't work

I think the easy solution to this is to make her parents the type that gives attention and love, but not unconditionally. Her parents are the type to give attention and love when their child fulfills a certain set of standards to their liking. Fin does not. She gets nothing

and if I make a point about privileges, this could connect to the other kid? This is the tricky part. So if the other kid simply doesn't grasp the idea that parents ignoring their child is a bad thing because she's so fixed on this idea of too much control...there's conflict

the issue, of course, is that she would have to be ignorant to the idea that Fin isn't receiving any positive attention at all and that that's an obvious bad thing. But I suppose a kid who grew up with constant positive attention wouldn't consider that need??? I dunno

but here's the thing: if Fin expressing her individualism is part of her road to happiness, what does that have to do with her being given positive attention? She'll be given more negative attention that way, wouldn't she?

it's possible that her road to happiness involves rejecting the idea that she has to live for other people, that her parents don't deserve her love and she can find it elsewhere (in that kid) but that's a big lesson for a 13 year old to learn, isn't it?

and that would ABSOLUTELY demand that I not split these kids up by the end. Otherwise, the ending would SUCK and be sad

Okay, so I think I have an idea now??? I might come back to this thread later